Sepang, 8 March 2014: Malaysia Airlines confirms that flight MH370 has lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2.40am, today (8 March 2014).

Flight MH370, operated on the B777-200 aircraft, departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am on 8 March 2014. MH370 was expected to land in Beijing at 6.30am the same day. The flight was carrying a total number of 227 passengers (including 2 infants), 12 crew members.

Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft.

The airline will provide regular updates on the situation. Meanwhile, the public may contact +603 7884 1234 for further info.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Xinhua) — A Malaysian passenger plane carrying 239 people, including 227 passengers and 12 crew members, has lost contact with air traffic control after leaving Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, the carrier said Saturday.

Malaysia Airlines said flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200, lost touch with Subang Air Traffic Control around 02:40 a.m. local time Saturday morning (1840 GMT Friday).

Chinese aviation authorities have confirmed that there were 160 Chinese nationals aboard the plane.

The aircraft left Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 00:41 a.m. (1641 GMT Friday) and was expected to land in Beijing at 06:30 a.m. (2230 GMT Friday).

“The flight was carrying 227 passengers (including two infants), 12 crew members,” the airline said in a statement posted on its website.

“Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their search and rescue team to locate the aircraft,” the airline said.

The flight MH370 with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board lost radar contact in airspace controlled by Vietnam in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The Chinese Embassy in Malaysia has formed an emergency team headed by the Chinese Ambassador to deal with the incident.

UPDATE [6:24]: No sign of wreckage was found off the coast of Malaysia. Earlier, an orange speck was seen where the last signal came from, but a vessel despatched to the location reported that it was nothing. Full story here.

Kuching Police chief ACP Roslan Bek Ahmad said his niece was a passenger on the MH370 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Full story here.

UPDATE [6:15]: Countries across South-East Asia have launched air and sea search operations to find the missing MH370 plane. It’s exact location remains a mystery as it relayed no distress signal, indications of rough weather, or other signs of trouble. Full story here.

Mohd Lokman Hamid, the younger brother of passengers Norli Akmar Hamid said that he only found out about the news via Facebook. Full story here (Malay).

UPDATE [4:41]: Tempers flare. AFP reports that an elderly man, believed to be a family member of one of the passengers of flight MH370, punched a cameraman as he was trying to film events at the Beijing airport.

In Malaysia, 56-year-old Hamid Ramlan fears the worst as he awaits news on the fate of his daughter and son-in-law, who were both on the flight. Full story here.

UPDATE [4:33pm]: Malaysia Airlines CEO says 80 percent of the family members of the people on board flight MH370 have been contacted. Full story here.

Two people aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 are traveling with passports reported stolen in Thailand, foreign ministry officials in Italy and Austria said.

Italy’s Foreign Ministry said that an Italian man, Luigi Maraldi, who was listed as being a passenger aboard the aircraft that was carrying 239 people, reported his passport stolen last August.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry also confirmed that a name listed on the official manifest matched an Austrian passport reported stolen two years ago in Thailand, and that the Austrian was not on the plane but would not release his name.

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4 Comments

It was a mid night flight, crew fatigue was probably present, resulting in delayed reactions to any on board emergency. There could have possibly been a cockpit fire that simply burned the plane in the air and also cut off radar and all other communications. The Boeing 777, registration 9M-MRO, was delivered new to Malaysia Airlines on May 31, 2002. The tip of the wing of the same aircraft broke off Aug. 9, 2012, as it was taxiing at Pudong International Airport outside Shanghai. The wingtip collided with the tail of a China Eastern Airlines A340 plane. The aircraft was powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines. Almost 12 years old air craft had accumulated 20,243 hours and 3,023 cycles in service. Whatever happened, this is a truly sad day in aviation..

This incident marks the fourth hull loss of a Boeing 777, the previous being Asiana Airlines Flight 214 with three fatalities. In 2005, during a flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur the crew received a “stall warning” forcing the pilot to turn back. On Jul 29, 2011 an Egyptair flight MS-667 – Boeing 777-200, registration SU-GBP was preparing for departure from Cairo (Egypt) to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) at gate F7 with 291 passengers already boarded waiting for a delayed last passenger until doors could be closed .when a fire erupted in the cockpit causing smoke to also enter the cabin. Emergency exits were not opened, all passengers vacated the aircraft through the smoke and the main doors.What a lucky set of crew and passengers. Imagine the horror had they been airborne.The aircraft was subsequently written off as beyond economical repair.